Notizie

EU Employment and Social Situation Quarterly Review – March 2013

Divergence continues to increase across Member States, translating into persistently growing labour market and social challenges, marked by ever higher unemployment at EU level, according to the March edition of the EU Employment and Social Situation Quarterly Review. The situation of many households, and of young people in particular, has clearly deteriorated.

The EU Employment and Social Situation Quarterly Review provides an overview of developments in the European labour market and the social situation in the EU, based on the latest available data.

Employment has been trending down again since mid-2011, with positive developments only noticeable in part-time work. Unemployment rose further in January 2013, especially in the euro area, to 26.2 million in the EU as a whole, accounting for 10.8 % of the active population, and concerns nearly one in four economically active young people.

This edition highlights the effects recent government spending cuts have had on the employment and social situation in a number of Member States. Fiscal tightening affected employment through both direct (public sector employment) and indirect (aggregate demand) channels. Changes to the tax and benefits systems and cuts in public sector wages have led to significant reductions in the level of real household incomes, putting a heavy strain on the living standards of low income households.

This edition also analyses the diversity in terms of labour market matching, recent trends in posting of workers across the EU, the specific situation in Bulgaria and in the sectors of manufacture of basic metals and motor vehicles.

Finally it features a special supplement on the analysis of recent demographic trends in the European Union.